


girl from the sidewalk

by skateboardstepdad



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Band Fic, F/M, Meet-Cute, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 18:09:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18211781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skateboardstepdad/pseuds/skateboardstepdad
Summary: James might be late for class, but he'd also never forgive himself if the most gorgeous girl in the universe walked past him and he missed her.





	girl from the sidewalk

**Author's Note:**

> based heavily on "girl from the sidewalk" by noah floersch which is probably one of the cutest songs ever written. also this is the first prose i've written in a year so uhhhh that's why it's bad

It was only the second day of his sophomore year and James was already late for class.

It wasn’t his fault he forgot to set his alarm (except it definitely was) and got distracted working on a sketch, but by the time he checked his watch, he was a full three minutes late to Philosophy 203 with his favorite professor from last year.

At this point it was too late to change out of his sleeping clothes (joggers and a t-shirt he cut the sleeves off of in a caffeine-induced haze over the summer), so he grabbed the fanny pack Sirius dared him to use as a pencil case all semester, jammed his sketches into his backpack, and picked up the Adidas that were by his door. He shoved his earbuds in, pressed play on a Noah Floersch EP, and dashed out the door.

It was _way_ too cold for his last-minute outfit, especially considering that it was only early September and a full 45 degrees outside. Goosebumps erupted down his arms and he could feel his toes going numb, but at this point it was a little too late for his shoes, and really, despite all that, he was just glad to be back on campus.

He bent over to remove a rock that had embedded itself in his left heel, and upon looking up, he saw _her_.

She was, truly, the most beautiful girl he had seen in his entire life. Her hair was a flaming auburn that cascaded down her shoulders and her eyes were startlingly green. Freckles dotted her nose and cheeks, and her eyeliner was sharp enough to cut him.

Now, normally, James was pretty okay with girls. He was handsome and self-assured, and if there was a girl he was interested in, it was pretty easy for him to get a date. This girl, however, was different. He was completely and totally anchored to the sidewalk, staring at her all slack jawed.

That’s when she looked up. She gave him a once-over and then smirked. He could only imagine how stupid he looked, with the messiest hair of all time and one of the dumbest outfits he could’ve conceived. He didn’t want to seem like a creep, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her, and she didn’t seemed too interested in breaking eye contact.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed, but he couldn’t deny he was getting even later to class as every second passed, and the humanities building was ten minutes away from his dorm. She kept walking towards him, but he was anchored to his spot. She was going to pass him, and he needed to say something, _anything_ , even a simple greeting. He was searching for the right words, but he was drawing a complete and total blank.

She brushed by him, but he couldn’t just let her go. He looked back over his shoulder and, lo and behold, she was doing the same. Their eyes met one last time and she smiled. _She’s the most beautiful person I’ve seen in my entire life_ , he thought. With that, she disappeared around the corner, and James couldn’t help but beat himself up the entire way to class.

 

//

 

It was the first Friday of the semester, and Lily was ready to go out. Remus was seeing a new boy, and his band was playing in the campus bar. Remus had begged her to come with him, and she couldn’t say no to him. Besides, Remus kept teasing one of the boys in the band was exactly her type, and while she was still kind of hung up on the cute stranger from the other day, she had to come to terms with the fact that it probably wasn’t going to work out between them.

Remus met her outside the bar, and they walked in to the set in full swing. It was a cover of some indie song, but they sounded pretty good. She sent Remus to grab them a table by the corner where the band was performing as she went to get them some drinks. The song came to a close, and the frontman of the band leaned into the mic.

“Hey everyone,” he said. Lily registered that his speaking voice was lower and far more gravelly than his singing voice. It sounded nice, she noted. “So, uh, earlier this week I saw the most _beautiful_ girl in the world, and, well, I was too stupid to do anything about it. So this one’s for her.”

As the acoustic guitar riff began to play, the bartender passed her the drinks, and she turned around - only to see Sidewalk Boy standing behind the mic. The beers in her hands almost met a gruesome end on the floor as she stood frozen in shock. That’s when the chorus started.

 

> _“Hey girl from the sidewalk I wrote this one for you_
> 
> _If you hear it, know it's my song if you remember like I do_
> 
> _Hey girl from the sidewalk I wrote this one for you_
> 
> _If you hear it, know it's my song if you remember like I do_
> 
> _I wish I said something strong like what’s up baby_
> 
> _Or something funny like call me maybe_
> 
> _Or something old fashioned like Hello missus how do you do?_
> 
> _Or something really stupid_
> 
> _Like I got a drive-by bow and arrow wound from cupid_
> 
> _Or a simple little Hi_
> 
> _My jaw just wasn't working for you.”_

Lily smiled to herself, because really, he had described their exact interaction, and how many girls could he have had that encounter with in a week? So she made her way to where Remus was waiting for her.

Despite how close they were sitting to the band, he didn’t seem to notice her. Eventually, the set came to an end. Once they had dismantled their gear and loaded it into a van, Remus’s new guy led the other two through the bar to where they sat.

“Hey there,” Remus said, greeting the long-haired boy with a peck. “You guys sounded great up there. Lily, this is Sirius.” She reached a hand out, which Sirius shook.

“Thanks so much for coming,” Sirius replied. “This is James and Peter.” Sidewalk Boy ( _James,_ she corrected herself) reached to shake her hand, and as she took it, he looked up. Once again, he froze, and she couldn’t help but smirk.

“Uh-” he stammered.

“Hey,” she said. “What’s up baby?” He laughed.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I’m, uh, usually much better at talking to people.”

“I don’t mind,” she replied. “I thought it was cute.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5w11A6MQJE


End file.
